Entrepreneurial Orientation in Social Enterprises: Balancing Social Impact and Financial Sustainability

Dr. Preeti Singhwal ¹, Tushar Batra ², Devashish Shukla ³, Rashika Thapliyal ⁴, Dr. Arpita Mishra ⁵, Dr. Nidhi Srivastava ⁶

¹Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management and Commerce, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India.

²Research Scholar, USFS, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, India.

³D.A.V P.G. College, C.S.J.M University, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.

⁴Research Scholar, AIE, Amity University, Lucknow Campus, Uttar Pradesh, India.

⁵Faculty, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Maharaja Suhel Dev University, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.

⁶Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Studies, National P.G. College, 2 Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.

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ABSTRACT

This study examined how entrepreneurial orientation can be applied to achieve a balance between social impact and financial sustainability in social enterprises. Based on primary data from 312 registered social enterprises in Punjab, India, the study investigated both direct and indirect impacts of entrepreneurial orientation on financial sustainability through the value of social impact. Data analysis was performed using regression and mediation analysis on SPSS. The findings revealed that entrepreneurial orientation has a strong positive effect on both social impact and financial sustainability. Furthermore, social impact was found to partially mediate the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and financial sustainability, with a positive impact on financial sustainability. The study indicates that mission-driven value creation, rather than cost reduction, makes financial viability in social enterprises more robust. In this paper, the authors apply entrepreneurial orientation theory to hybrid organizations and offer empirical evidence of the synergies between social and economic missions.

Keywords: Entrepreneurial orientation, social enterprises, social impact, financial sustainability, mediation.

How to cite this article: Singhwal P, Batra T, Shukla D, Thapliyal R, Mishra A, Srivastava N. Entrepreneurial orientation in social enterprises: balancing social impact and financial sustainability. Int J Drug Deliv Technol. 2026;16(7s): 256-263; DOI: 10.25258/ijddt.16.7s.29

Source of support: Nil.

Conflict of interest: None